Uber news recap - December 2015

Behind the wheel with Uber in Bogota

A few highlights from the world of Uber news in December:

Worried it will be hard to identify the Uber car picking you up? What if others are waiting for Uber cars too? It turns out there's now an app for that: the new Uber SPOT:

• Uber gives drivers color-coded windshield LEDs to help riders find the right vehicle - GeekWire

Criticism of Uber's surge pricing (aka 'dynamic pricing') hit a new low (or is that high?) with the story of a former happy Uber customer's experience visiting Grand Rapids. Unable to get a taxi after a game with his buddies, the Uber advocate boasted how fast and affordable the service was. After a car quickly arrived, he asked what the fare would be, and the driver said he didn't know. He got quite a shock after the relatively short drive.

• Uber customer gets handed $490 bill for an 18-mile ride - AOL

Toronto taxi drivers still don't get it. Just a week after the Canadian Competition Bureau called for a level playing field in the taxi vs Uber debate, Toronto taxi drivers staged a hunger strike. Then they went onto mass strike actions that only caused Torontonians and visitors alike crave the alternative.

• Toronto taxi drivers stage hunger strike to protest Uber - blogTO
• Uber can’t be defeated from the outside—but maybe from within - Macleans

What if you want to drive for Uber, but don't have a car? The answer just got easier, if you live in Denver:

• Uber is offering cheap rental cars to its Denver drivers - The Verge
• Whose Insurance is it Anyway? Enterprise Offering Rentals To Uber Drivers in Denver - The Truth About Cars

Of course, a little ridesharing seasonal cheer:

• Uber’s Latest Stunt Is On-Demand Christmas Spirit - Money

And on the global stage:

• Angry French Uber drivers have created their own Uber - The Verge
• Uber seems to be getting its butt kicked in China - Forbes
• As Tiger Global Plays Both Sides In Uber War, Other Investors Are 'Furious' - Forbes

Other headlines:

• You can now call an Uber in Messenger, Facebook's window to the world - Wired
• ‘Uber is part of the transportation cocktail’: Jean-Nicolas Guillemette - Financial Post
• U.S. states pass laws backing Uber's view of drivers as contractors - Reuter's
• Former Obama aide, now Uber adviser, says drivers don’t need union - Seattle Times
• Uber is accused of failing a huge number of New Yorkers - Business Insider
• Uber driver recounts nearly 3 hours spent driving shooting suspects - AJC Atlanta
• Uber Snags Another Google Mapping Exec to Lead the Product Team - Re/code

Related resources
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig 
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

Christmas taxis

Ho ho ho!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a happy and safe holiday season.

And, yes, that wish includes taxi drivers:)

Related resources

• Do we really hate taxis?

creative commons image, click for source information

Tijuana Airport's new Cross Border Xpress (CBX) terminal

Tijuana Airport's new CBX terminal opens
 in San Diego on December 9, 2015

For the past 2 years, San Diego residents have watched a new building take shape next to the USA/Mexican border, complete with an overhead walkway. It's a new portal, of sorts, into Mexico.

When the new Tijuana Airport Cross Border Xpress terminal (CBX) opens on December 9, 2015, making it the only airport in the world to have terminals in two countries.

 "CBX", situated in San Diego, California, USA, is connected to Tijuana International Airport's Terminal 1 by a passenger foot bridge. Eligible passengers will pay USD 18 for access to the 525 foot bridge.

The Terminal 2 building will serve as a check-in and processing facility for departing passengers only, with its own parking and customs offices. There are no gates or arrival facilities. The structural scheme of CBX is intended to allow greater access to flights out of Tijuana Airport for both domestic and international air carriers.

The design of the joint binational Terminal 2 is the work of late Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta.

Related resources
Cross-border airport? New California terminal extends to Mexico
Tijuana International Airport (TIJ) transportation guide
San Diego International Airport (SAN) transportation guide

Uber news recap - November 2015

creativecommons image afagen on Flickr

Here's a bit of what was happening in the Uber vs taxi war in November.

Canada’s Competition Bureau calls for modernized taxi rules 

 Canada Competition Bureau wants to see a level playing field for taxis and ridesharing services, such as Uber. Commissioner John Pecman has called on regulators to ease price controls, eliminate taxi plate restrictions, permit street hail pick-ups, and provide incentives for accessible vehicles:

• Competition Bureau Favours Uber Over Taxis, Says Regulations Should Be Relaxed - Techvibes 
• Competition Bureau urges relaxed taxi rules to level playing field with Uber - Globe and Mail 
• Don’t regulate Uber, competition watchdog says - The Star

The hoopla over surge pricing

Another Halloween, another uproar over Uber's surge pricing. No one much likes it, except perhaps the drivers, but it seems this aspect of the Uber business model is here to stay.

• Stop complaining about Uber's surge pricing - Business Insider
• Avoiding Uber’s Surge Pricing – Stay Put or Take a Walk - Bidness etc

What? Taxis drop their fares to compete with Uber?

How revolutionary: taxi meters in Toronto have been reprogrammed with lower base fares in an attempt to compete with ridesharing services. While surely welcomed by passengers, it may also be annoying to realize that one has been paying inflated rates, along with all the rumbling...

• Toronto taxi base fares drop to compete with Uber - Hamilton Spectator

How ridesharing is making a difference

While the Western world argues the merits of ridesharing services, and pours energy into stopping the organic growth that users are seeking, it's a good news story elsewhere in the world. Take India...

• How Uber, Ola are changing drivers' lives - Times of India

Related resources
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig 
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants